wow, quick update!!! this story is drawing to a close, hope you all enjoy the ride. once again, thank you everyone for the great reviews, they make my day:)

IN TRANSIT

Chapter 13

"Come again?" Dean asked, helping his brother to sit.

"That thing think's I'm Pete." Sam stated again, his voice a little stronger. He knew it sounded ridiculous, but he also knew what he had seen. That thing had called him Pete, and that wasn't even the half of it. Sam looked up into his brother's worried eyes, wondering exactly where he should start. This hunt had gone from bad to worse, to down right hellish, and the youngest Winchester wasn't sure which way was up any longer.

"Why, it's not like you two share a striking resemblance."

"I don't think that's it."

"So what, it shows you a nightmare and then says 'oh, by the way, I think you're an old guy named Pete'?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what, exactly?"

"It showed me something, different." Sam added, rubbing his forehead. He felt like his head was going to explode, his body aching. It was almost as though he'd run a marathon in one hundred degree heat. He could feel every nerve firing, his stomach turning as the world around him began to tilt.

"Different how, Sammy?" Dean began, rubbing Sam's back, his voice curt. Sam could only imagine what this was doing to his brother. Dean had put his safety above all else, and he could only imagine what his big brother was going through at that moment; forced to watch as something slowly killed him with thoughts.

"It showed me things."

"Noted, can you move this along a little bit?"

"They were like memories, like the nightmares, but they weren't my memories."

"So he showed you Pete's?"

"No."

"Then who?"

"I have no idea."

"You know, I can tell when you're lying to me."

Sam looked up at his brother's accusation, Dean's knowing green eyes boring into him. It was true, Dean always seemed to know when he was lying, and now was no different. "I'm not sure, but I think maybe Ben's."

"Ben's?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure, but it seems so."

"Why the hell would bug man show you Ben's memories?"

"Who knows."

"Alright." Dean began, rubbing his face. Sam knew he was worried, knew his older brother's brain was running a mile a minute, trying to find a way out of their current mess. It wasn't his fault, but Sam knew that Dean would blame himself not matter what. "What did you see?"

"War at first. Then the trains."

"Well, at least that's a start."

"Dean, there's something else."

"Oh man, what?"

"I'm not just seeing his memories, I'm feeling them, too."

"What, like pain?" Dean asked, his good arm immediately going to Sam, searching for any sign of injuries or illness.

"Not like that." Sam began, pushing his brother's arm away. "Like, if he's scared, sad, happy, that kind of stuff."

"That's weird."

"I know. It's almost like I was Ben."

"And bug man did that?"

"I'm just as confused as you are, man."

"So, what were you feeling when he was at war?"

"Afraid, sad. He just wanted to be home again, he kept thinking about his brother."

"Pete?"

"He never actually said Pete. It was just brother."

"It talked to you?"

"Not really. It was all just a kind of feeling."

"So, he wanted his brother?"

"Yeah, it was the same with the trains, expect he was still worried, still kind of scared."

"Well, Raven said that he came back from the war different, and that it kind of destroyed Pete."

"So maybe he was afraid for his brother?"

"Makes sense."

"But why show me, Dean. I mean, what the hell am I gonna do?" Sam asked, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. Why the hell did things like this always happen to him. Yeah, he knew that being psychic was like being a lightning rod, but he still seemed to get more of the creepy, save me, vibes then anyone else.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do for Benjamin, if he was supposed to do anything. The creature killed people with fright, end of story, so why was it trying to reach out to him now?

"We'll figure it out, Sammy."

"Yeah, sure."

"I promise, Sam. I'll figure this out."

"And what about next time, or the time after that?" Sam asked exasperated. He'd only been back with his brother for a few months and his life was already shot to hell.

"Look, Sam, let's just focus on now, we'll worry about your other ghosty buddies when they come a knockin."

"I'm sorry, I'm just tired."

"It's fine, Sam. And I promise we'll figure this out. Wouldn't want those lovely locks of yours to turn grey. No one would believe I was the older one." Dean smiled, punching Sam in the arm.

"Yeah, you'll have to start doing what I say."

"You wish. So, back to buggy? He show you anything else?"

"The train mostly, just how things went over time. And this woman."

"Kathy."

"Who?"

"The woman he left at the side of the tracks. The one that supposedly cursed the train."

"Sure, yeah. Her I guess, then." Sam began, rubbing his forehead as his headache began to grow.

"What was she doing?"

"Just standing there."

"And?"

"And what?"

"How did that make you feel?"

"What are you, my shrink?"

"Just answer the question."

"I don't know, weird. It was like he was happy and sad at the same time, worried, but also excited."

"So, no 'you're the love of my life'?"

"No, definitely not. More like, 'you're what I've got, but I'm not sure I want it.'"

"Harsh."

"He didn't actually say it to her, Dean."

"Still."

"You're telling me that you never felt that way?"

"This isn't about me, Sammy. Anything else?"

"Uh, one last thing. Darkness. I saw Kathy, and then everything got dark."

"Like he passed out?"

"No, like he's trapped in the darkness. And it's terrifying."

"Well, Raven said that he was the creature's first victim. Maybe that's why he feels that way."

"I don't know, it feels different. It isn't like he's afraid of something. It's like he is fear."

"How can someone be fear?"

"Got me." Sam began, moving towards his duffle. He had an idea, something about Benjamin that was gnawing at the back of his brain. He was the key to it all, the source of the mystery, and Sam could feel himself getting closer and closer to the answers. Something had happened five year before, something that had set all of the current events in motion, and it was something involving Benjamin. Yeah, he was the creature's first victim, but there was more to the story then anyone would tell, of that Sam was certain. And he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"How is more research going to help us now?"

"Just, give me a second, I have an idea." Sam stated, his laptop already open on his knees. He just had to look into a few things, just had to answer a few questions.

Kathy, she was the root of it all, the answer to their questions. He knew that Benjamin was the key, but Kathy was the catalyst, he just had to figure out what really happened to her. He was sure that, once he learned the secrets the cryptic woman held, everything else would fall into place.

"Did Raven tell you anything about Kathy, about what happened to her?"

"Just that she got married and had a couple kids. Died a few months before Benjamin. Why? You think she's our bug master?"

"I don't know. But it would make sense. Molly said that Kathy 'got lost'. That's all she kept saying. That she got lost and turned to dark magic."

"Yeah, Raven didn't really go into it, but she seemed to suspect Kathy, too. So then, it's Kathy."

"Maybe."

"What maybe, it seems pretty damn likely."

"Yeah, but it's not a spirit, it would look like her."

"Maybe she was ugly."

"Could you please be serious."

"Then what, Sammy?"

"A Cur."

"What's a Cur?"

"It's a demon, it brings about people's worst fears and nightmares." Sam read from the screen, his heart beating faster and faster with each passing moment. "They are normally found around lakes and wells, drowning people that get too close, but they can also be summoned and trapped."

"So what? Like a demonic hit-man?"

"Pretty much. They stalk people, filling their minds with fear, until it eventually kills them."

"But Kathy's dead, so who's controlling it now?"

"It shouldn't be anyone. Apparently, once the person that summons the thing dies, it's free."

"So it's free and killing?"

"It shouldn't be. It should have just left, I don't know why it's still here."

"Unless, it still has a job to do for, Kathy." Dean began, checking through their provisions as he spoke.

It all clicked in Sam's head, Dean's words opening up a door. Kathy died before the Cur's job was finished, and for some reason, the thing was killing without regard. Or was it? "Dean, the people that died, do they have anything in common?"

"All men."

"Anything else?"

"I don't think so, hang on." Dean began, pulling out a manila folder.

Sam knew they had been through it all, knew they had gone over everything with a fine tooth comb, but there still had to be something, a thread they had missed. And, by the look of horror on his older brother's face, Dean had found it. "Dean? What is it?"

"Brothers."

"Huh?"

"The men that died, they all had an older brother."

"Are you sure?" Sam began, pulling the folder from his brother's lax hand. It was true, every last person had been someone's younger brother. It wasn't obvious, just a fact stated in passing, mumbled about in obituaries, but it was there, and now it seemed to be staring them in the face. Brothers, just like Pete and Benjamin. But, if Kathy had been angry with Benjamin, then why wasn't the Cur going after older brothers, why younger?

"Dean, I missed it, too." Sam began, noticing that Dean hadn't spoken since finding the information. "Dean?"

"Don't you dare say that this isn't my fault." Dean began, his voice dangerously low.

"It's not."

"Oh really, so I didn't bring you here with a freaking bull's eye on your back?"

"We can't think about that now, Dean. We've got other problems."

"Like what?"

"Like why it's going after younger brothers. She was pissed at Ben, so why not go after the older ones? There's something we're missing."

"Well don't look at me, I wouldn't be able to figure something out if it bit me in the ass."

"You know, moping isn't gonna to help. I missed it, you missed it, be both screwed up, so let it go."

"Wow, you should be a motivational speaker."

"Can we just focus?"

"Alright, so, why older brothers?" Dean asked, his eyes brightening after his brother's words. Sam knew he was worried, knew he blamed himself for having brought them on the hunt in the first place. But he also knew there wasn't anything they could do about that now. He had to keep Dean focused, had to keep him from slipping into big brother martyr mode. Because, if that happened, then he knew they would both be screwed.

Dean meant well, he really did, but when it came to Sam, he turned into a different person. He was reckless and rash, and those were two things that he couldn't be while trying to hunt down creatures on a moving train.

"You sure there wasn't anything else it that emotion sharing of yours?"

Sam thought back to Benjamin's memories, focusing on the one of Kathy. She was a beautiful girl, her mousy brown hair falling down her shoulders in waves, brown eyes large and full of love and wonder. And her smile; she had a smile that could have melted the coldest day. In that instant, she was the closest thing to perfection Sam had ever seen. She was full of trust, full of caring, of that the younger Winchester was certain, but she was so young, so naive.

Sam let his entire mind rest on the charming girl before him, her voice floating to his ears like rain on a deep summer night. He was amazed by her, his entire body warming in her presence, fear dissipating as he stared long into her deep eyes. She could make life full again, could take the fear away with nothing more than a smile, could repair his soul with a soft laugh. He wanted her, maybe not to love, but to save him. He wanted to take her away, to keep her with him, to shelter her, make sure she remained innocent. The world was so full of sorrow, so darkened by pain and death, but here, in that one moment in time, in that small pocket of space, he found something worth fighting for. And he didn't want anything to tarnish her shining spirit.

But there was a voice coming to him, gnawing away at him, infiltrating his mind. He was afraid, afraid that, if he took her away, she would see too much of the world, would fall to the darkness that had claimed him. He didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't want to put her in danger either. He had thought that he could keep her safe, that he could take her away, save her innocents, preserve her spirit. But, what if he was wrong. No, he couldn't do that to her, couldn't break her, couldn't let the outside world take her away. He had to leave her.

"Pete." Sam breathed, his eyes opening, though the image of Kathy remained with him. "Pete made Benjamin leave her."

"Raven said Ben chickened out."

"No. It was Pete that talked him into leaving her. Benjamin wanted her, wanted to take her away."

"Away from what?"

"Reality. The war destroyed him. He saw people killing, lying, basically every dark thing a person could do, and he though that if he took Kathy with him, he could save her from all that. I wish you could have seen her, Dean, she was beautiful, but so young."

"So, why would Pete tell him to leave her?"

"I don't know." Sam began, just as the train ground to a halt, the broken crates around them tipping and sliding as the locomotive slowed. "Where are we?"

"Kathy's town. Raven said that the train always stopped here. Well." Dean began, pushing himself to his feet. "I guess if we want answers we gotta go right to the source."

"Pete."

"Yup, and what do you wanna bet he's up by Kathy's house."